Madam, – Dr Gareth P Keeley’s letter (August 17th) did more to highlight the utter intellectual poverty and ignorance of climate change “sceptics” than any action by what he refers to as the “climate change lobby” could hope.
First, he makes the classic argument that an unusual number of cold snaps and record snowfalls constitute “evidence” that global warming is a sham.
Of course if he was actually familiar with climatological science, he’d know that global warming causes an increase in extreme weather events – whether heat waves, cold snaps or hurricanes – which is exactly what we’re seeing now.
An unusually cold winter in Texas coupled with an unusually hot summer in Russia is evidence for not against climate change.
As to China and India being less “obsequious to the bullying tactics of global warming alarmists”. Here he is simply wrong. The Chinese government and military have publicly asserted that climate change poses a direct threat to China’s long-term strategic interests. China currently has the largest (and fastest-growing) “green” technology sector in the world, spurred on by government investment and other incentives, as well as foreign direct investment.
By contrast the most recent US failure to pass solid climate legislation has seen Deutsche Bank and other investors abandon billions of dollars worth of planned investment in “green” jobs and infrastructure in the US in favour of projects in India, China and Europe.
Who exactly is committing “economic suicide” here? – Yours, etc,